Quinnen Williams might not be happy about Jeff Ulbrich's recent comments

NY Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich came under scrutiny over comments he made about defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and the Jets' defensive line rotation on Thursday.

And reading between the lines, it sure doesn't seem as though Williams is very happy with those comments or the Jets' rotational approach to the defensive line.

Ulbrich was asked about the Jets' perplexing defensive line rotation on Thursday, a rotation that has kept Williams off the field for nearly 40 percent of defensive snaps.

His response, one that included a comment about Williams "gasping for air" on the sideline, was interpreted by some as throwing his player under the bus.

To his credit, head coach Robert Saleh defended his defensive coordinator on Friday saying that Ulbrich's comments were taken out of context, even calling the perceived drama "bush league." Williams himself may see things differently, however.

Quinnen Williams might not be happy with Jeff Ulbrich and the NY Jets

Shortly after Ulbrich's comments caused a stir on social media, Williams took to Twitter and retweeted a video from August in which Saleh said that he was in the "best shape of his life."

That certainly feels like a passive-aggressive response to Ulbrich's comments, especially given that Williams rarely tweets. This was a video from August — he went out of his way to find the clip and retweet it directly after Ulbrich's comments were perceived by some as questioning Williams' conditioning.

That's not a coincidence.

This is even further supported when you dig a little deeper into Williams' social media activity. The last tweet he "liked" is a tweet from June that criticized the Jets' extensive defensive line rotation saying that it "makes zero sense."

Below is the tweet that Williams "liked."

One final piece of the puzzle came on Friday when Williams declined to speak to reporters after practice. As Brian Costello of the New York Post said, "interpret that how you will."

Williams is one of the nicest, most mild-mannered guys on the Jets roster. He's not someone who's going to go public with his concerns and make a big stink about it. That's just not who he is.

But it seems clear that he's unhappy with both Ulbrich's comments and the way he's being used — and it's hard to blame him.

The majority of the top defensive tackles in the NFL play anywhere between 70 and 80 percent of snaps a game. DeForest Buckner never played fewer than 77 percent of snaps under Robert Saleh in San Francisco.

Williams played 59 percent of defensive snaps in 2021 and is up to just 63 percent so far in 2022. That needs to change.

It isn't hard to read between the lines and realize that Quinnen Williams is a little disgruntled. The Jets need to figure out how to fix things — and fast — before they further alienate arguably their best player.